Tower construction



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HAROLD 0. HILL, OF ASPINWALL, WILLIAM WILKINSON, 0F INGRAN, PENN- SYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS TO RITER-CONLEY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, 0F LEETS- DALE, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION 0F PENNSYLVANI v TOWER CONSTRUCTION.

Application led July 19, 1922. Serial No. 576,017.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, HAROLD O. HILL and WILLIAM WILKINSON, citizens of the United States, residing at iAspinwa-ll and" Ingram, respectively, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have in- `vented vcertain new and useful Improvements in Tower Constructions,'of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention is for an improvement in structural towers of the type used in supporting high tension transmission lines, telegraph, or telephone lines, radio antenna, andv for similar purposes, and` relates particularl to a ground anchor for such towers.

Hibretofore, two methods of erecting such towers-v 'have been employed. method is to provide four concrete bases to which thelegs of the towerare secured.-

The second method is to employ structural metal anchors in the ground, to which the legs of the tower are secured.' The present invention pertains to the latter method.

One of the earliest and most commonly used methods is the provision of a stub formed of an angle iron connected at its lower end to a .grillage of crossed metal members embedded in theearth. A. The top of the stub, one being employed for each leg of the tower, projects just a few inches -above the ground line. At a sufficient d-istance below the .surface of the ground, transverse metal channels of short length,

known as'. shear channels, were secured to.,

the stubs, one at right angles tothe other, to give the stub a suliicient resistance surface to movementv in the ground to 'withstand lateral strains. This is a highly desirable arrangement because, when the towers are constructed, they are completely assembled on the ground, then raised to a `vertical position. The stubs could be set by a separate crew of workmen in advance of the erection of the tower, and, if the stubs did not correspond' to the exact position of the legs, they could be iiexed sufficiently to bring them n into position.

yWith the increase in the length ofspans, the size and weight of' towers and transmission lines, it'has been found, however, that/'the stubs will'bend or b'reakbetween they ground line and the shear channels when The first the tower is subjected to certain strains, particularly high,v winds. This is due lto the strains transmitted to the upper ends of the stubs through the lowermost diagonals of the tower.

I t has been proposed to remedy this defeet by having three or more stubs or angle bars connected to a grillage in the ground at each corner, instead of one. This is objectionable in that, if the anchor structure at each corner is not accurately positioned, it is almostv impossible to Hex it around into proper position. Furthermore, if the grillage is not set in the ground level, the three an le bars `do not receive the load equally.

other method of construction proposes to connect vthe diagonals of the tower to the stubs below the ground line. Such an arrangement, while effective, requires considerably more excavating than the method rst described, and requires that the tower be erected before the diagonals are connected with a bracing structure, so that the tower is more or less flimsy while being raised. Further disadvantage resides in the neceseach stub into position with three corremembers at each corner of the spondin (s the diagonals are of lighter stock than the legs of the tower, they rust through more rapidly, and being underground, they may get in an unsafe conditionl without the line inspector being able to discover it.

The present invention proposes to utilize the advantages of the rst of thethree stub arrangements just described, but to provide means on the stub member capable of withstanding bending moments transmitted through the diagonals of the tower.

Our invention may be readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a stub in position,

showlng one leg and the diagonal of the tower attached thereto;

Fig. 2 is a section on lineII-II of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a section on line lH-III of Fig. l; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a complete tower;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a slight modification;

Fig. 6 is-a section on v line VI-VI of Fig. i 1

Fig.,7 is a view similar to Fig.' 1 of another modilication; and

Fig. 8 is a cross section on line VIII- VIII of Fig. 7.

is often set in the ground sometime previous to the erection ofthe tower, is designated generally as B.

preferred construction. The grillage shown in the drawingsis, formed of-a plurality of cross ties 8 tied together at their ends by angle bars 9, and to-which are secured par-. allel channel beams 10. Between these channel beams 10 is'secured a vertical section of I-beam 11, to which the stub 12 is fastened;

The stub 12 comprises an angle bar of' sufficient strength and of the lnecessary length to enable the grillage to be buried far enough Aunder ground'to .get the desired anchoring,

and yet normally provide for an end projecting above the ground line.

'So much of the construction as described is old in the art. The present invention isV for the purpose of improving this construe` tion to prevent the'stub 12 from breaking at or nearthe ground line. It has generally been the practice to secure two shearchannels to the stub at the necessary diS- tan'ce belowthe ground line for the purpose of giving added, surface to resist movement of the stub in the earth, but these may be omitted in the presentcase.

' Secured to the stub as shown in Fig. 1, a short distance below its upper end, is4 a longitudinal angular memberv 13 preferably` in the form of a Z-bar, or similarv form,

having more than a single angle therein.

This bar 13 is of sufficient length to extend well down'into the ground. The web of the barA secured to the stub resists strain in one direction and the intermediate web of the bar resists bending moments in av direc-tion at right angles thereto, so that the stub is securely braced against lateral bends, due to the horizontal components of the strain transmitted thereto,- through diagonale eX- tenging in either of two directions vfrom the stu The intermediate and the third face of the bar, beside adding greatly to the strength of the stub, increases the area of contact with the earth, so that the strain is diffused through a greater surface of earth,

' and consequently, thc earth can resist shown two such mences, the upper terminal of the filler being designated at c. The advantage of this construction is to enable the diagonal to be Y attached to the leg at a point just above the splice, so that if they tower is assembled on It comprises a grillage 7 of any usual or the ground before being raised, the diagonals may be `permanently attached to the leg, thus facilitating the erection of the tower while ensuring sufficient strength to the stub above theground line and below the end of the diagonal. y

When erecting the towers, particularl in isolated territory, the stubs constructed in accordance with our invention may be permanently positioned in the ground. The towers, which are ordinarily fabricated in the shops, are shipped in pieces to the point where they are to be erected. The towers may be built up from the stubs,- or assembledfon the ground and raised to vertical stubs may be flexed or sprung sufficiently so that if not accurately set in ythe beginning, they can be brought into place without difficulty.

.the added lateral bearing surface, gained by the angular members, distributes these .position afterwards. In either event, the'.

strains into the ground below the surface where the earth is sufficiently compact to resist the horizontal shear, and diffuse the vstrain so that the earth may withstand more strain.

, Various changes and modifications 'may be made in the4 construction, particularly in theshape of the angular members for bracing the stubs, within the contemplation of our invention and within thescope of th appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. A stub for tower' constructions comprising a structural member having anchoring means at its lower end, and a reinforcing longitudinally extending member secured to theupper portion of said stub and extending well down toward the center thereof, said member having means for resisting strains in different directions and giving added surface to the stub. for resisting movement in the earth.

2. A stub construction for towers comassenso prsing a structural member adapted to be Partially embedded in the ground having anchoring means at its lower end, and longitudinally extending means on said stub member near the upper end thereof having a plurality of angularly disposed webs for bracing the stub against lateral strains, said means also providing added surface for contact with the earth to ofer greater resistance to the movement of said stub when in the ground. y

3. A stub construction for towers comprising a structural metal stub member adapted to be embedded in the earth, means for anchoring said member in the earth, and a longitudinally1 extending angular member secured to said stub near the upper part thereof and extending a considerable distance downwardlytherealong, said angular member providing webs for resisting lateral -strains in diferent` directions and giving addedsurfaee to the stub for resisting movement in the earth.

4. A stub construction for towers comprising a structural metal stub member adapted to. be embedded in the earth, means for anchoring said member in the earth, and a longitudinallyv extending angular member having a plurality of angles therein secured to said stub near the upper part thereof and extending a considerable distance downwardly therealong, said angular member providing webs for resisting lateral strains in different directions and giving` added surface to the stub for resisting movement in the earth. A

5. A stub construction for towers comprising a structural stub member adapted to be embedded in the earth, means for anchoring said member in the earth, andbracing means for the upper end of the stub comprising a longitudinally extending Z-bar secured to the stub.

6. A stub construction for towers colnprising a structural stub member adapted to be embedded in the earth, means for anchoring said member in the earth, and bracing eommeans for the upper end of the stub 'l prising a plurality of longitudinally extend- Ing Z-bars rigidly secured to the stub.

The combination with .a t'ower having legs and diagonal braces secured to the lower ends of the legs, of ground stubs to which said legsare secured, said stubs comprising a stub member adapted to be embedded into the ground up to a few inches of its top, an anchoring means at the lower end of the stub member, and bracing means comprising a Z- bar secured to the upper part of said stub and extending from the splice between the leg and the stub al considerable distance into the ground.

8. The combination with a tower having legs and diagonal braces secured to the lowerA ends of the legs, ofground stubs to which said legs are secured, said stubs comprising a stub member adapted to be embedded into the ground up to a few inches ofits top, an

anchoring means at the lower end ofthe stub: A

member, a Z-bar secured to the stub member y the ground, an anchoring means at the lower end of the stub member and bracing means comprising an angular member secured to the upper partl of said stub Aand extending longitudinally thereof for a `considerable distance, said angular member having means for resisting strains in .diferentdirections and giving added surfaces to the stubs for resisting movement in the earth.

In testimony whereof we afix our signatures.

HAROLD o. IIILL. WILLIAM WILKINSON. 

